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Ousted Pixar co-founder John Lasseter to join Skydance Media

By Brooks Barnes| on
January 9, 2019

FILE - In this June 13, 2010 file photo, John Lasseter arrives at the world premiere of "Toy Story 3," at The El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles. Lasseter, the co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and the Walt Disney Co.’s animation chief, will step down at the end of the year after acknowledging “missteps” in his behavior with staff members. less

FILE - In this June 13, 2010 file photo, John Lasseter arrives at the world premiere of "Toy Story 3," at The El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles. Lasseter, the co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and the Walt ... more

Photo: Katy Winn / Associated Press 2010

Photo: Katy Winn / Associated Press 2010

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FILE - In this June 13, 2010 file photo, John Lasseter arrives at the world premiere of "Toy Story 3," at The El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles. Lasseter, the co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and the Walt Disney Co.’s animation chief, will step down at the end of the year after acknowledging “missteps” in his behavior with staff members. less

FILE - In this June 13, 2010 file photo, John Lasseter arrives at the world premiere of "Toy Story 3," at The El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles. Lasseter, the co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and the Walt ... more

Photo: Katy Winn / Associated Press 2010

Ousted Pixar co-founder John Lasseter to join Skydance Media

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John Lasseter, the Pixar co-founder who was forced to resign from the Walt Disney Co. in June after complaints about unwanted touching in the workplace, will join Skydance Media, a production company affiliated with Paramount Pictures.

David Ellison, who founded Skydance in 2010 with money from his father, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, said Wednesday that Lasseter had been named the head of a relatively new department, Skydance Animation. Lasseter, 61, will start this month.

“John is a singular creative and executive talent whose impact on the animation industry cannot be overstated,” Ellison said in a statement. “And yet we did not enter into this decision lightly. John has acknowledged and apologized for his mistakes and, during the past year away from the workplace, has endeavored to address and reform them.”

In his statement, Lasseter said that he had spent time in “deep reflection, learning how my actions unintentionally made many colleagues uncomfortable, which I deeply regret and apologize for.”

Lasseter, the force behind the “Toy Story,” “Cars” and “Frozen” franchises, added that he plans to build Skydance Animation in the same way he built Emeryville’s Pixar, albeit with a new commitment to “safety, trust and mutual respect.”

The accusations against Lasseter did not rise to the level of those against other powerful Hollywood figures, they were serious enough to prompt his ouster. The Hollywood Reporter cited “grabbing, kissing and making comments about physical attributes” by Lasseter in meetings and at work events, particularly when he had consumed alcohol. Staff members also said that Lasseter had become increasingly domineering over the years.

As word spread this week that Lasseter was close to finding new employment, several women involved with the MeToo movement noted that Lasseter expressed no regret for his behavior or discussed efforts to reform when he left Disney in June.

Disney had put Lasseter on leave in November 2017. At that time, he sent an email to employees at Pixar and the separate Walt Disney Animation studio apologizing “to anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of an unwanted hug or any other gesture they felt crossed the line in any way, shape or form.”